Gene jumps like someone gave him a nasty static shock, and then he retreats back into his shell. Pepper lowers her leg back to the floor and puts her arms on the table, leaning forward with the mug between her hands.

"I won't. But you obviously will." She sighs, sounding tired. "Can we just skip the part where I nag you for days and fill up your console inbox with more messages than it can handle and just generally be really annoying about it until you crack just to get me to stop? I'm tired and my head hurts, and I'm sure neither of us is going to be up for that." She smiles a little, shrugging. "If it helps, you can tell me now, and I can pretend you didn't and spend a week harassing you anyway."